Latest news with #RuslanStefanchuk
The Herald Scotland
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
In times of political turmoil, the Speaker's ‘soft power' is important
The Speaker, however, is not a real-time fact checker of comments made from the Despatch Box. He is not responsible for what a Member, including the Prime Minister, says in the Chamber. He does not have the authority to require Ministers to give answers to questions. His role is impartial and he has no say or influence over government policy. The Speaker also has administrative responsibilities as Chair of the House of Commons Commission, which employs and cares for over 3,000 staff, runs the administration and services of the House, and oversees the maintenance of the Palace of Westminster and precincts. Furthermore, the Speaker represents the Commons as an institution in a wide range of public forums, both at home and abroad. He takes the lead in interparliamentary liaison and engages with people about the work and role of the democratically elected House: interactions that Speakers began more than 200 years ago. Many Speakers have represented the House on the international stage, at a range of interparliamentary events, including the G20 Speakers' Conference, the G7 Speakers' Conference, the Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers Conference, and the Council of Europe Speakers' Conference. In these times of political turmoil, when democracy is under challenge, the use of the Speaker's 'soft power' is particularly important. For example, together with Ruslan Stefanchuk, President of the Ukrainian Parliament – the Verkhovna Rada – Sir Lindsay Hoyle has championed the democratic rights of Ukraine, at the G20 and G7 forums. Indeed, as early as 1944, the then Speaker, Clifton Brown, recognised the value of the Speaker's role in diplomacy and lead a parliamentary delegation to visit allied troops in Normandy. I hope this helps in a small way to explain the extensive role of the Speaker – and his office, which dates back to the 14th century. Jackie Storer, Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House of Commons, London. Shelling out at the Armadillo How on earth did anyone manage to get one of the 6,000 tickets to either of the two David Byrne concerts scheduled at the Armadillo for next March? Presale for these concerts began last Thursday, with General sale commencing at 10am on Friday. I went on to Ticketmaster at exactly 10am. Tickets started at just over £40. These were unavailable. By the time I'd read this message the only tickets available, for better seats, already cost £134.50. The time was now 10.01. Shortly afterwards, the cheapest ticket for Saturday was £265. I know of five other people who had the same dismal experience. Am I alone in suggesting that something is going wrong here? Sorry, David. We'd have loved to see you – but not at these exorbitant prices. Raymond Highet, Glasgow. Council must reject this plan This is an open letter to Glasgow City Council to ask it reject a planning submission being recommended for approval, for purpose-built student accommodation with ground-floor food hall, fronting onto Sauchiehall Street. Recommendations to reject have already been made by Historic Environment Scotland; Glasgow School of Art; The Mackintosh Society: fellow councillors Christy Mearns and Philip Braat; the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland; Glasgow City Heritage Trust and over 130 objectors and fellow Glaswegians. Seven years ago, on June 15, 2018, Charles Rennie Mackintosh's masterwork, the Glasgow School of Art, was almost destroyed by an inferno that lit up the city. The school of art board have promised a 'faithful reinstatement' of the building and today are working toward that aim. The fire that almost destroyed the school also seriously damaged the adjoining ABC cinema, to the extent that it had to be demolished and devastated a site that is one of the most important in the city, on one of Glasgow's most historic thoroughfares: Sauchiehall Street. Now a planning application for 350 student beds and a food hall is proposed to front onto Sauchiehall Street and replace the cinema. The massive structure will obscure Mackintosh's world-renowned south elevation but also detrimentally impact Alexander Thomson's A-listed Grecian building on the corner of Scott Street, as it is an unequivocally over-scaled, nine-storey structure of limited architectural merit. The application as proposed would have a significantly adverse impact within the conservation area and destroy the setting and appreciation of Mackintosh's masterwork, a building of great significance to Glasgow, Scotland and the world. In support of the application, images now being put forward by the developer show sunlight flooding into a proposed busy 'public space' at the rear of the proposed structure and fronting onto the south elevation of the school of art. As an architect who has built much in Glasgow, it is my view these images are misleading and only if you remove four or five storeys from the front onto Sauchiehall street then you may get some sunlight into such a space - in high summer. Like Professor Penny Macbeth, director and principal of the Glasgow School of Art, I agree that the redevelopment of the former ABC Cinema is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to positively transform this significant site and this part of the Sauchiehall Street. But this poorly-considered, cash- and opportunity-grabbing proposal is not that. City council planners have also agreed that this development would have a 'negative impact on the historic environment' but despite that have forwarded the plans for council approval, which I urge councillors to reject. Professor Alan Dunlop FRIAS, Aberfoyle.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia launches largest drone attack against Ukraine since beginning of war, Ukrainian military says
Russia has battered Ukraine overnight with its largest drone attack since the war began, Ukraine's military said Sunday, as Moscow intensified its military assault despite holding direct peace talks with Kyiv Friday. Russia launched 273 Shahed drones in one night, the Ukrainian Air Force said, predominantly targeting the central Kyiv region. A 28-year-old woman was killed, and three others including a four-year-old child were injured, according to Mykola Kalashnik, the governor of the Kyiv region. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of Ukraine's parliament, said in a social media post Sunday: 'The air raid alarm lasted almost nine hours. This is what Putin's 'sincere desire for peace' looks like.' The attack destroyed residential buildings, damaged a high-rise and set garages on fire, Stefanchuk wrote, adding: 'This is terror in its purest form.' The 'massive attack' caused a number of fires, Ukraine's emergency services also said, adding that 55 rescue workers had been deployed. Elsewhere, Russian shelling killed one person and injured eight in the Donetsk region Saturday, according to the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin. Russian drones also targeted the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, regional military chiefs said. Meanwhile, Russian forces have downed 75 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours, TASS, a Russian state news agency, reported Sunday, citing Russia's defense ministry. The latest assault comes after a Russian drone attack on a bus in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy killed at least nine people and injured seven Saturday, just hours after the two countries met for the first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russia's 2022 invasion. The negotiations in Turkey failed to produce a major breakthrough. The two countries discussed a possible meeting between their presidents, a ceasefire and agreed a prisoner swap. The talks capped days of back-and-forth: Russia's President Vladimir Putin called for the face-to-face meeting but did not attend himself, instead sending a junior delegation after rejecting Ukraine's proposal of a 30-day ceasefire. During the talks, Russia demanded Ukraine cede land that was still under Kyiv's control, a source familiar with Friday's negotiations told CNN, a position Ukraine has long dismissed. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland called Russia's stance in the talks 'unacceptable.' Donald Trump is set to speak with Putin Monday on ending the Ukraine war, the US president announced Saturday. Trump has previously said he doesn't think there will be a significant breakthrough on peace talks until he speaks with Putin directly. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Saturday that preparations were underway for a phone conversation between the two leaders. CNN's Victoria Butenko, Nick Paton Walsh and Olesya Dmitracova contributed reporting.
CNN
18-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Russia launches largest drone attack against Ukraine since beginning of war, Ukrainian military says
Russia has battered Ukraine overnight with its largest drone attack since the war began, Ukraine's military said Sunday, as Moscow intensified its military assault despite holding direct peace talks with Kyiv Friday. Russia launched 273 Shahed drones in one night, the Ukrainian Air Force said, predominantly targeting the central Kyiv region. A 28-year-old woman was killed, and three others including a four-year-old child were injured, according to Mykola Kalashnik, the governor of the Kyiv region. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of Ukraine's parliament, said in a social media post Sunday: 'The air raid alarm lasted almost nine hours. This is what Putin's 'sincere desire for peace' looks like.' The attack destroyed residential buildings, damaged a high-rise and set garages on fire, Stefanchuk wrote, adding: 'This is terror in its purest form.' The 'massive attack' caused a number of fires, Ukraine's emergency services also said, adding that 55 rescue workers had been deployed. Elsewhere, Russian shelling killed one person and injured eight in the Donetsk region Saturday, according to the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin. Russian drones also targeted the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, regional military chiefs said. The latest assault comes after a Russian drone attack on a bus in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy killed at least nine people and injured seven Saturday, just hours after the two countries met for the first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russia's 2022 invasion. The negotiations in Turkey failed to produce a major breakthrough. The two countries discussed a possible meeting between their presidents, a ceasefire and agreed a prisoner swap. The talks capped days of back-and-forth: Russia's President Vladimir Putin called for the face-to-face meeting but did not attend himself, instead sending a junior delegation after rejecting Ukraine's proposal of a 30-day ceasefire. During the talks, Russia demanded Ukraine cede land that was still under Kyiv's control, a source familiar with Friday's negotiations told CNN, a position Ukraine has long dismissed. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland called Russia's stance in the talks 'unacceptable.' CNN's Victoria Butenko and Nick Paton Walsh contributed reporting.
CNN
18-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Russia launches largest drone attack against Ukraine since beginning of war, Ukrainian military says
Russia has battered Ukraine overnight with its largest drone attack since the war began, Ukraine's military said Sunday, as Moscow intensified its military assault despite holding direct peace talks with Kyiv Friday. Russia launched 273 Shahed drones in one night, the Ukrainian Air Force said, predominantly targeting the central Kyiv region. A 28-year-old woman was killed, and three others including a four-year-old child were injured, according to Mykola Kalashnik, the governor of the Kyiv region. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of Ukraine's parliament, said in a social media post Sunday: 'The air raid alarm lasted almost nine hours. This is what Putin's 'sincere desire for peace' looks like.' The attack destroyed residential buildings, damaged a high-rise and set garages on fire, Stefanchuk wrote, adding: 'This is terror in its purest form.' The 'massive attack' caused a number of fires, Ukraine's emergency services also said, adding that 55 rescue workers had been deployed. Elsewhere, Russian shelling killed one person and injured eight in the Donetsk region Saturday, according to the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin. Russian drones also targeted the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, regional military chiefs said. The latest assault comes after a Russian drone attack on a bus in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy killed at least nine people and injured seven Saturday, just hours after the two countries met for the first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russia's 2022 invasion. The negotiations in Turkey failed to produce a major breakthrough. The two countries discussed a possible meeting between their presidents, a ceasefire and agreed a prisoner swap. The talks capped days of back-and-forth: Russia's President Vladimir Putin called for the face-to-face meeting but did not attend himself, instead sending a junior delegation after rejecting Ukraine's proposal of a 30-day ceasefire. During the talks, Russia demanded Ukraine cede land that was still under Kyiv's control, a source familiar with Friday's negotiations told CNN, a position Ukraine has long dismissed. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland called Russia's stance in the talks 'unacceptable.' CNN's Victoria Butenko and Nick Paton Walsh contributed reporting.
Russia Today
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine could axe one-third of parliament
The number of seats in the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, should be slashed from 450 to 300, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk has argued. The lawmaker cited the country's declining population as the reason for the proposed move. The Rada is a year overdue for elections, which remain suspended under martial law. In a recent interview with Ukrinform, Stefanchuk said the current parliament is bloated. 'There is a demand in Ukrainian society for a reduction in the number of deputies,' the speaker stated. 'It's not about sympathies or antipathies. It's simply that the number of Ukrainians needing representation has decreased. When we had 52 million people, it was different, but now, with fewer citizens, a change needs to be debated.' The current Ukrainian parliament is officially more than 70 MPs short and struggles to maintain the quorum necessary to pass legislation. Initially, it had only 26 vacant seats, reserved for constituencies in Crimea and Donbass, where no elections were held in 2019 due to lack of control by Kiev. Read more Ukrainians who moved to the West not coming back – MP Support for Vladimir Zelensky's agenda in parliament appears uncertain. After US President Donald Trump labeled Zelensky a 'dictator' in February, the Rada failed to pass a statement supporting the Ukrainian leader during a visit from senior EU officials. The resolution was eventually passed the following day. Ukraine's population was just under 52 million when it declared independence in 1991 amid the USSR's collapse. By the time of the last census in 2001, that number had dropped to 48.5 million. A 2024 government demographic report estimates the population in Kiev-controlled territories at 31.1 million. Kiev anticipates persistent labor shortages ahead, as many Ukrainians who have fled since the escalation of conflict with Russia in 2022 show little intention of returning. Officials are debating whether to attract millions of non-citizens to fill the gaps. Zelensky claims that his primary goal in the conflict with Russia is to protect the people. Moscow has accused him of waging a war 'to the last Ukrainian' in pursuit of Western interests and personal ambition.
